


Revelation of Shadows

by bluetoast



Series: Angels and Ministers of Grace [8]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Cuddling & Snuggling, Depression, F/M, Family Issues, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Rey Needs A Hug, Self-Harm, badass Padmé
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:17:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8500213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: Ben and Rey's relationship has changed in a matter of hours. As Friday afternoon has become Friday night, Rey learns a little more about her roommate's past than she expected. The world decides to throw Ben Solo a few curve balls - one in the form of a phone call, and the other in the form of a letter.HC Bingo - Learning to Be Loved





	

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings for any die-hard _Twilight_ fans and anyone opposed to hunting.

Ben slowly opened his eyes, an unfamiliar weight lying across his chest, and he wasn't certain if he'd slept one hour or twenty. He shifted slightly, running the tips of his fingers down Rey's spine, his lips pressed to the top of her head as his hand came to rest at the small of her back, and she let out a soft sigh. Lifting his chin, he could see his alarm clock across the room, the red numbers revealing that they'd been asleep for two hours; it was just after seven at night. He reached over with his other hand, brushing her hair out of her face, and she shifted slightly against him, her hand running down to rest on his hip. “Comfortable?”

“Uh huh.” she snuggled closer. “You don't have problems with your shoulders, do you?”

“Not that one.” He chuckled, hugging her. “It's the other one that met the windshield back in June.” He shook his head, not wanting to think about that wretched day. “Enjoy your nap?” he leaned over to click the lamp next to the bed on, and he blinked a few times in the the bright light.

“Nap?” She rolled over slightly, folding her arms and resting them on his collarbone, and then rested her chin on her arms. “How long were we asleep? It feels like I've slept the whole night.” 

“Two hours.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.“You okay?” 

“Little sore, but other than that, pretty good.” Rey gave him a smile before sliding off of him and shifting so they were lying next to each other, her head resting against his. “This is not how I thought this day was going to end.” 

He chuckled, letting out a soft breath. “I didn't either.” He set his hand against the side of her face and kissed her cheek. Ben had no idea what sort of conversation they should be having at this point; topics seemed either frivolous or improper. But the silence was somehow worse. The quiet was broken with the familiar groan of the wind whirling past the building, followed by the one sound that he'd not heard since February, but recognized instantly. “Freezing rain.” 

“Eeesh.” Rey whimpered and closed her eyes. “Glad we don't have to work tomorrow.” She draped an arm over him, her hand sliding around to play with the small hairs on the back of his neck. 

“It never lasts long, the temperature will drop soon enough and it'll be snow.” He sighed. “Lake Effect.” 

“Wasn't it sunny and warm just a few weeks ago?” She mumbled, and he almost laughed, but instead, drew the covers up so they were almost over her head. “I shouldn't complain.” 

“It's all right.” He embraced her, his hand resting on her hip. “I'm certain I'd have the exact opposite problem if I went to Texas.” 

“It's not so bad, once you get used to it.” She offered, looking up at him. “Although you can always add a layer if you're cold, you can't do that in heat.” 

“True.” He frowned for a moment, a random theory his friend Nate had about people and the weather they preferred, or at least, felt most comfortable to them. “I just realized that I have no idea when your birthday is, other than you turned nineteen on your last one.” 

She laughed. “September twelfth, and yes, I was born in Houston.” She sat up on her elbows, looking down at him. “When's yours?”

“December twenty-third.” He chuckled. “Cologne, Germany – almost two months premature.” 

“No you weren't.” Her face was skeptical. “No way were you a preemie.” 

“I was.” He grinned, “I was supposed to be born at the end of January, or start of February – so my mother thought nothing of taking a vacation before I was born for Christmas, since my father was working one last shift before I was due.”

“So, how did you get back to the States?” Rey frowned. “I mean, it's not like you had a passport.” 

“The American Embassy in Berlin issued my birth certificate. Since I couldn't fly, my mother took a cruise ship back across the Atlantic, and we arrived in New York City about a week before my original due date.” He chuckled. “I was almost a month old.” He decided he wouldn't mention the part of the story where his grandma went basaltic on his mother over risking both her and his lives by making the original trip in the first place.

“So little.” Rey let out breath. “I bet you were a cute baby. I wouldn't know about me, I have no idea if any pictures of my infancy still exist.” 

He gave her a sad smile and kissed the side of her head. He never liked talking about his family, even with people he knew well; but since Rey didn't even have one, he felt he had no right to complain. “If it helps, none of my cousins have baby pictures either – well, unless you count being two a baby.” 

“Are your cousins all adopted?” She gave him a reproachful look. “You didn't tell me that when you told me about them.”

“I didn't think it was really relevant. I mean, they're my cousins.” He answered, then figured he might as well share a little more information. “Well, Elijah and Elisa are actual blood siblings, but that doesn't matter to their brother and sisters and it doesn't matter to me either.”

“The way you say that makes me think that none of you, except for the two that are related even look remotely alike.” she gave him a wary look. “Which is both interesting and unsettling.”

He gave her a look. “Everyone in Kingsbury County knows that you don't mess with the Skywalker Posse.” He grinned. “According to Aunt Mara, their reputation has spread among the 4-H Clubs throughout the Upper Great Plains.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Reminds me, I need to get more postcards to send them, I haven't done that in a while. I did remember to send Elisa a birthday card two weeks ago, so at least there's that.” 

“It's been a crazy November.” She remarked. “I mean, was anyone in this city thinking coherently after the World Series?” 

“Good point. Does explain what happened to Halloween.” He chuckled. “Let's see, Elisa's the youngest, she just turned ten.” Sticking to his cousins was a safe subject. “She and I have the odd birthdays – in November and December. Everyone else in the family, my parents, her parents, her siblings and our grandma have one right after the other from May through September.” He paused. “I'm surprised you haven't seen pictures of any of the kids on Facebook.” 

“Exams and classes have kept me offline, I probably have a dozen angry emails from Poe and Finn wondering what I've been doing.” She rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. “I also didn't want to go stalking your uncle's photos, that would be weird.” She frowned. “What did he study at De Paul?”

“Chemistry.” He replied. “My granddad got a double degree in French and Engineering.” He let out a long sigh. “He was a flight engineer for Eastern Airlines.” He covered his eyes. “I'd say it's nothing short of a miracle anyone in my family can get on a plane, given that he died in a crash.” 

“I'm sorry.” He felt Rey's arm tighten around him. “Considering I've never even been on a plane, I can't comment.” 

He opened his eyes and pressed his lips against hers softly. “So how did you get to Chicago then? Train?”

“Greyhound.” She let out a groan. “Twenty five hours on the road, including the two hour layover in Memphis.” She snuggled closer, and he felt her thigh slid over his. “I'm just glad that there wasn't a time change involved.” 

He trailed his fingers up and down her spine, slowly. “The longest bus ride I've ever taken was twelve hours – from here to Sioux Falls to see my uncle – and then it was another two hours by car to their farm.” 

“Seems like that it shouldn't be that far of a distance.” She snickered. “Then again, I suppose it doesn't seem like it should be eleven hours from Memphis to Chicago. When you grow up in Texas, Illinois doesn't look _that_ big.” Rey kissed his cheek, near the base of his scar. “My friends thought I was crazy, wanting to go so far away from everything I knew for college, but I...” Her words were cut off as her stomach gave a very audible growl and she went pink.

“Someone missed lunch.” Ben chuckled, then his own stomach turned over. “Guess that settles it. We should get up and eat, even though personally, I'd rather stay here.” He slid out from under her, somewhat reluctantly. “You stay under the covers, I'll bring you something to put on.” He lifted the comforter just enough to climb out of bed and he grabbed a pair of sweatpants that were lying on the floor, pulling them on as Rey sat up on her arms. 

“Just loan me a shirt so I can run to my room.” She covered a yawn. “I can stand the cold in short amounts.” 

“You sure?” He opened his dresser and grabbed a t-shirt, pulling it over his head. 

“Yeah, it's only November. I need to work on my cold adaptation if I want to survive the winter.” She held out her hand as he passed her a shirt. “Thanks.” 

“Sure.” He pulled on a pair of socks and went around the bed, picking up their discarded towels. “You get dressed, I'll get the leftovers out of the fridge.” He gave her smile before walking out of the room, leaving the towels on a rack in the bathroom before heading into the kitchen, turning on lights as he went. The past few hours were both wonderful and confusing; while he knew that he had wanted to sleep with Rey, he never actually expected it to happen. Or at least, not as quickly as it had. “You okay with soup?”

“Sounds great.” Rey called, and he heard her moving around in the other room, possibly taking their discarded clothes from the bathroom to their respective laundry baskets. “Sorry about leaving the groceries on the counter, I was too tired when I got back from work to do much more than put the items that needed to be in the fridge away. Arya didn't get into them, did she?”

He went over to the canvas bag and examined the contents; some fruit, a loaf of bread and some canned goods. “No, she stayed out of it.” He took the leftover soup from the fridge and put it in the microwave. “Was the mail here when you got home?”

“It's on the front table.” She answered, coming into the kitchen and started to put her groceries away. “Pretty much nothing but people asking for money, but there weren't any bills.” Rey turned and headed back out of the room. “Although there was something for you that looked important...”

Ben frowned as he stirred the soup before giving it another few minutes in the microwave. Important could mean it was several different sources. “It's not from a law firm, is it?”His mother may have scared off the majority of the ambulance chasers back in June, but they still surfaced from time to time.

“No.” She returned to the kitchen, holding the bundle of mail in one hand and a single envelope in the other. “It's from a publishing company.” 

“It's probably just another rejection letter.” He took it from her. “Thanks.” 

“You don't know it's a rejection.” She leaned against the counter, smiling. “Besides, how many publishers rejected _Harry Potter_? Can you imagine how many times the people who said _no_ to _that_ have kicked their own asses over it?”

“Twelve companies, and I'm going with at least once a week since the initial publication.” He checked the return address on the envelope and his heart turned over; the last time he had received a letter from Simon & Schuster, it had been an almost flat-out rejection of his story, informing him that the 'time wasn't quite right' for his work. “I actually didn't expect to hear from this company again. Leslie was going to submit it to Little & Brown once the holidays were over.” He frowned as he pulled out the thick bundle of papers. Or rather, one thin letter and another that looked suspiciously like... “No...” 

“Ben, is something wrong?” Rey's voice seemed to be coming from a great distance away, barely registered over the roaring in his ears as he scanned the first sentence of the letter over and over again.

_Mr. Solo, after additional reading and analysis, Simon & Schuster has selected your debut novel, “Kylo Ren” for publication. _

The rest of the letter was all a blur to him. He registered falling to his knees, stunned and overwhelmed. Leslie Phasma had told him that the chances of the first publishing company saying yes was so remote, and he should be prepared for multiple rejections, but to see this... Rey moved into his field of vision, her face full of worry, and then he just _broke_ – throwing his arms around her. He needed to share this feeling – it was too much for one person to contain. “They're going to publish my book!” 

“What?” Rey's voice was muffled against his neck and she returned the embrace, almost laughing. “Ben, that's wonderful! Congratulations!” 

He pulled away,handing the letter to her, not trusting himself to keep it intact. “I... I'd thought I was more or less rejected, I didn't actually _think.._.” 

She kissed his cheek, beaming. “Guess it's a good thing I didn't hand it to you when I came home, because you'd have slipped on the tile floor for sure.” 

He laughed, pressing his hands to his mouth, trying to at least get back to some semblance of calm, just as the microwave began to beep. “There's dinner.” He grasped the counter, hauling himself up, wincing at the pain in his leg, then pulled Rey up from the floor as well. “Sorry about freaking out like that.” 

“Don't be. I'm surprised you're not running around like Daffy Duck and screaming whoo hoo.” She went over to the cupboard and took down two bowls. “I remember when I got my acceptance letter to De Paul. Finn had to practically pull me off the ceiling I was so excited.” 

Ben placed the letter next to the pile of mail before retrieving the soup. The day he'd gotten the same letter she had, he'd been filled with nothing but dread. The memory alone was enough to calm him down. “I've been meaning to ask, what are you hoping to do with your art degree?” He set the dish on the stove and pulled the ladle from the drying rack next to the sink.

“Right now, I just want to pass my classes.” She grinned and came over to the stove with the bowls. “but first, we need to eat.” 

“Agreed.” He would be able to think a lot better with food in his stomach. “Although I don't think I've ever run around imitating Daffy Duck in my life.” He filled a bowl and handed it to her. “However, if you want to see something really funny, you can see the video of my cousin Anna and her friends launching copies of _Breaking Dawn_ into the air with a skeet machine and then shooting them with rifles.”

She stared at him like he'd grown another head. “Your cousin knows how to shoot a _rifle_?” 

“They all do. The schools in De Smet have to issue letters to parents stating that the first day of pheasant season is _not_ an excused absence. But then, when you only have around ten kids in each grade, if half the student population is out, what are the teachers to do?” He handed the bowl to her. “My cousin Liam has the distinction of being one of three African Americans in the entire town.” 

Rey took her bowl, frowning. “De Smet...why do I think I know that name?”

“Little Town on the Prairie.” He offered, grinning as her eyes widened. “It's not much bigger than when Laura Ingalls lived there.” They headed into the other room and to the table. “Remind me to show you the sign my cousins made that landed them in hot water with the historical society.”

She gave him a look. “I'm starting to think I need to meet these cousins of yours. They sound like an interesting bunch.” She set her bowl down on the table. “Spoons, we need spoons.” She turned and went back to the kitchen as he put his own bowl down.

 

*

Rey came back with the spoons and two ginger ales from the fridge. She had taken their clothes from the bathroom and dropped them in their respective rooms – mainly so they wouldn't trip over them in the middle of the night. She had a feeling that their current clothes were going to end up in a similar pile next to the bed before the night was out. Not that she had a problem with that. She was also silently thankful that she'd been put on birth control two years ago to bring her periods under control – and she had told Ben right after he'd opened that drawer in his bedside table that had a box of condoms inside of it. She slid into her chair. “Soup always tastes better the second day.” She handed him a spoon and the bottle of soda.

“Thanks, and you're right.” She saw him incline his head for a moment before he started to eat. “Particularly chili, but this should still be good.” 

She nodded in agreement, eating a few spoonfuls of her dinner. Rey wasn't exactly sure how things were supposed to work between them now. When she had shucked her clothing and gotten into the bathtub, she hadn't exactly planned on it ending up with her and Ben having sex. It wasn't that she felt bad, or ashamed, she just felt – uncertain. It was weird, sort of like that first Friday when they both got back to the apartment after classes. She had seen him naked that afternoon, but yet, as soon as they were in back here, they may as well have not seen each other since they left that morning. “How was work today? Have anyone claiming that the orange matte was red this time?”

Ben chuckled. “No, thankfully. I wasn't working the desk, I was in the shop itself, mostly cutting glass.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a breath. “Our goal is to get everything that was ordered in the past two weeks _done_ by the end of this weekend so we can go full tilt into the holiday orders. I am not looking forward to my overnights.” 

“Overnights?” She felt her eyes widen. “Work all night and be alone in that place?”

He shrugged, nonplussed. “It's the only way we'll get it all done. I don't mind, and besides, I owe my fellow framers time in since I was almost no help in the shop over the summer.” 

“That seems like it'd be rather... surreal. Being in a store in the middle of the night when everything's closed.” She ate a little more of her dinner. “Does it bother you?”

“Na. I just put on my Pandora station of choice and keep focused on the task at hand.” He opened his bottle of soda. “Have a midnight snack, but I can't leave the store, because I don't have keys.”

“Still....” She poked at her soup, trying to imagine spending the night at any of the jobs she'd ever held. She might not have minded spending the night in the library. Although, as Rey thought it over, that would be rather surreal too. “What time do you leave when you do that kind of shift?”

“Six in the morning – the stocking crew usually comes in at five, but with the holidays, it's more likely to be four, as the truck will be there three times a week as opposed to twice.” He gave her a half smile. “So if you come back from classes one afternoon and I'm snoring away, you'll know why.” 

Rey snickered. “You don't snore. At least, not very loudly. Arya purrs louder than you snore.” She swirled her spoon in her soup, slowly. “What's the scar on your leg from? The long one.” The question fell out of her mouth before she really processed asking. When she looked up, she saw that Ben had gone slightly pale. “Sorry, you don't have to answer that.”

“No, no...” He took a drink of ginger ale. “I'll answer it, it's just...” He set the bottle down, then set his hand flat on the table. “I cut myself.” 

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how he could have accidentally cut himself that badly, but then turned the words over in her mind again. There had been a slew of kids in her high school that everyone knew hurt themselves on purpose, hell, she knew fellow system kids who did it. It was one of those things that interfering was always risky; few people would even admit to it, even when confronted. “I shouldn't have asked that...” She looked back into her bowl of soup.

“Hey.” His hand came and rested on hers. “It's all right, Rey.” She looked up and saw he had that worn smile on his face. “I told you earlier this week, what you've seen of me is me in good shape. I don't hurt myself anymore. It was actually only that one time.” He ducked his head. “Nate gave me hell when he found out about it, but the cut served its purpose.”

“Which was?” She swallowed hard, the look on his face was ghastly. 

“Those three dead friends of mine...” He took a drink of soda before continuing. “They all died within a span of five months. Only Jordan's was an accident.” The hand on top of hers was cold, and she moved so she was holding it both of hers. “After Michelle... after she died, it was like I couldn't feel anymore. I was just going through the motions of living.” 

“I'm so sorry, Ben...” She squeezed his hand, swallowing. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to end this day. Ten minutes ago, the man across the table looked as if he could fly and now he was the complete opposite. 

“I cut my leg to wake myself up. I needed to know that I was still alive. That I wasn't dead too.” He pulled his hand back, and she watched him grasp the table edge. “I know, I probably should have just sucked it up and pretended that everything was fine...” 

“That's the last thing you should have done.” Rey stood and went over to him, wrapping him in a hug, holding his head against her chest and his arms wound around her waist. “I shouldn't have asked about the scar, I'm sorry.” 

“Don't be.” His embrace tightened. “You'd have asked about it eventually, or it would have all come out in a worse fashion. It's one of the reasons you'll rarely see me drink.” His arms slowly slipped from her. “Thanks.” 

“You're welcome.” She pressed a kiss on the top of his head before returning to her seat. “Is Leslie Phasma Gwen's sister?” She knew she needed to change the subject – fast.

“No, she's Gwen's wife.” Ben chuckled as he ate a few bites of soup. “She's a literary agent. Gwen's head of PR for the Cubs.” 

Rey thought for a moment. She wasn't certain how much either of those jobs made, but odds were, it was an unfathomable amount, and with two of those kinds of salaries. “You say that and it makes me cringe to think what the normal rent in this building is. I mean, someone who just moved in without knowing the previous owners and getting to pay their rate.” 

“Most people in this building are paying a month what I pay in a year.” His face was serious. “But we don't tell anyone that, because then they'd kill us and move in, claiming to be the new occupants, who were good friends of ours and they have no idea where we've gone.” 

Her eyes widened. “I'm not telling anyone.” She ate a little more of her dinner. “Could I read your book later? I mean, if you have a copy I can read here?”

He slowly smiled. “If you'd like to, sure.” 

She returned the smile. “I'd love to.” 

*

Ben had to turn the sketchbook sideways to make sense of the drawing. He didn't recognize the young woman who had also been a model in Life Drawing, but he hoped that wherever she was right now, someone was feeding her. He glanced over at Rey, her expression unreadable. It was a little odd, watching someone reading one of his stories, let alone the one he'd been working on for over two years. He ducked his head and turned the page of the book, finding a drawing of what must have been the view from her old apartment. 

The sound of his phone going off caused him to jerk slightly; and he leaned over to the bedside table to pick it up, glancing at Rey for a moment before answering. “Hi, grandma.” He flinched. “Happy Belated Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, thank you, Ben. I know you're busy.” His grandmother sounded slightly – off. “How are things in Chicago?”

“Snowy and windy, as is the norm for November.” He saw Rey lower the sheaf of papers, watching him. “I was going to call you tomorrow.” This was the truth; he always tried to call her at least twice a month. “How's the golf game?”

“I never tell my friends this, but I hate golf. I just play along because I'm too old for kickboxing.” she laughed. “No, I just got off the phone with your uncle, and now I'm calling you because there's something happening that involves the family.” 

He frowned, his heart dropping. “You're not sick, are you?” 

“No, Ben, those damn documentary people are finally getting their way. There's going to be an episode of _Air Crash Investigation_ about your grandpa's flight.” She let out a worn sigh. “Scores of accidents to chose from and they have to pick Eastern Airlines Flight 525.” 

He pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking again. He was relieved that it wasn't something as terrible as his gran being sick. “The cause of the crash was mechanical failure combined with the weather, right?”

“Yes, it was.” She coughed. “Trouble is, after these things get stirred up, all of a sudden everyone wants to talk to the families. I'm already dreading the call to your mother. She'll never admit to the fact of just how devastated she was when her father died.” 

Ben saw Rey put the manuscript down, and was now watching him, her expression concerned. “She and Uncle Luke were what, five when it happened?”

“Barely, their birthday had been the week before.” She let out a breath. “I spoke with Matilda Jacobs, her husband was the copilot, and she's about as anxious as I am about the whole thing.” 

“Tell her your good news.” Rey hissed at him, her eyes lightening. “Sounds like she needs it.” 

He shot her a look, then cleared his throat. “Grandma, I've got some news that might help cheer you up.” 

“After the Friday I just had, I could use some good news, what is it, Ben?” Her tone lightened.

“Uh... my book is getting published.” the same elated sensation from early swooped through him.

“Oh, Benny, that's wonderful! Congratulations!” It was like someone had flipped a switch and all his grandma's dourness was gone. “Is this the one you sent to me? The one about the knight?”

“Yeah, grandma, it is.” He grinned. “Uh, don't tell my mom, okay? I want to...” 

“I'll be right back.” Rey mouthed as she slid out of bed and shuffled through the door, and then he heard water running in the bathroom.

“It's high time your mother started being proud of the son she's got, rather than the one she thinks she should have.” Her voice was stern. “But I won't tell her, Benny. It's your news to share.” She cleared her throat. “There's something else I was going to ask you, and I don't need your answer right away.”

He set Rey's sketchbook on the bedside table and leaned back against the headboard, somewhat uncertain. “Yes, grandma?” He kept his tone even.

“Your uncle was wondering if you and your roommate would like to come with me to De Smet for Christmas.” Her tone was bright. “I hate leaving you every year, celebrating the holiday alone in your apartment.” 

Rey came back into the room, sliding back under the covers, watching him intently. 

“I think we might have to work, grandma, and I'm not certain of our finals schedules.” It wasn't exactly a non-answer. 

“You two talk about it, let me know what you decide. And don't go worrying about the plane tickets, I'd be happy to pick them up.” she said brightly, “and if you aren't able to come, I'll understand.”

“One minute.” He lowered the phone, debating on whether or not he should act as if Rey hadn't already been in the room with him. Then again, for all Grandma knew, they were sitting on the couch. “Are you entirely opposed to possibly spending Christmas in South Dakota?”

Her eyes widened, and she bit at her bottom lip. “Do I get to think it over first?”

“Yeah, you get to think about it.” He replied, chuckling. “We'll think about it, grandma.” 

“Not to try and guilt you into it, but I don't think I've had a holiday with all my grandchildren at the same time. Well, there was the time when you were twelve, but you understand...” She cleared her throat. “You let me know what you two decide.” She let out a soft curse. “I need to go, Benny, my battery is dying.” 

“Sure grandma, love you.” He saw Rey give him a knowing look. 

“I love you too, sweetie. Talk to you soon.” She ended the call and he set his phone down.

“Benny?” Rey was smirking.

“She's the only one who gets to call me that.” He felt his face flush. 

“Sorry.” She let out breath, leaning back against the headboard. “We don't have to talk about Christmas plans right now, do we?”

“No.” He pinched the bridge of his nose again. “I think we've had enough excitement for one day.” The awkwardness had settled back over him; and while a part of him wanted to just turn the lights off and go to sleep, it somehow seemed wrong to just do that. 

“We've definitely talked enough.” She yawned and leaned over, turning the lamp off, casting the room in darkness. “And it has been a long day, regardless.” He heard her shift to lie down in the bed and he did the same, lying down facing her. Her hand came up, slowly tracing the scar on his face before leaning over and kissing his chin. “Good day?”

“Wonderful day.” He kissed her forehead, putting one arm over her and closed his eyes as she settled against him, tucking her head against his collarbone. 

Outside, the freezing rain shifted into snow.


End file.
